All posts for the month June, 2012

Procrastination is easier than preparation. That is also completely backwards of getting anything done. However, we all have things that we put off because we think in the back of our minds that it can wait till later.

Think about it. We all have said things such as:

I will take that bill to the post office tomorrow.

I will wash the dishes before bed – then you go to sleep and wake up and they are still in the dishwasher.

I will fold the laundry tomorrow.

I will write that blog post later.

I will answer that email later.

I will return that phone call later.

Then in some strange Criss Angel way…POOF! Time has escaped you. Once time passes, you can never get it back. If you live always trying to catch up, you will find yourself living in the city of Regret.

Procrastination is never good.

You know you have something that you want to accomplish.

Do it. Just get out there and start on something. Everything you do is preparation for what you ultimately want to accomplish. You cannot get to the dream without taking the baby steps at the beginning.

It is about the process.

The process is what defines you. It is a journey. The process challenges you, changes you, molds you, shapes you. When you get to the dream (the end product) you are never the same person that you were in the beginning. Why? The process.

The process explores the depths of who you are.

You will learn things about yourself by going through the process. Some good. Some not so good. However, you may have never found out any of these things without going through the process.

The process is preparation.

The whole time you are going through the process you are working. You are making your work better. You are refining your art. You are beginning to see yourself in a different way.

Whatever you do, don’t stop.

Don’t stop. Don’t quit. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up.

God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you. When you get to your dream you will be thankful for the process. When you get to the dream, you will be prepared for how to handle it because you were preparing for it during the process.

What is your dream that you are preparing for right now? Share in the comments.

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No one picks up a spoon one day and instantly becomes a professional chef. No one goes to Target and buys a football and is immediately made into a NFL player. There is something that has to happen for you to become a professional at anything…

Practice.

If you want to be a professional at something, you have to work for it. You have to practice. You have to study. You have to work.

Yes. You will make mistakes. Nothing is ever perfect the first time. Do not let the fear of failure keep you from becoming better. How do you do that? How do you not let yourself become a victim of fear? Practice.

So what if you make mistakes: There are two mistakes that can derail your train. 1. You do not start because you are afraid of even starting (we already talked about this by the way.) 2. You make mistakes and instead of learning from them, you quit to avoid making anymore mistakes.

You do not have to be paralyzed by your mistakes. Instead, learn from them. Make mental notes of what went wrong, correct, and try again.

Practice where people can see you. You have to get your art out there. Your work is not just for you. Remember, God did not give you gifts and talents so that you can be a hoarder. You were meant to share your gifts and talents with the world.

You might be thinking, “Whoa. Wait just a minute.” Why would you think that? Because you know the somebody else sees your work, your art, one of two things are likely to happen.

The first being that people will criticize you. The second being that people will value and appreciate your art. However, you will never know until you put it out there.

You have to go public.

Cook for people.

Play in front of coaches and fans.

Write for a blog or a magazine.

Sing in front of people.

Put the pedal to the metal. Charge in with guns blazing. It is bottom of the ninth with two outs and you are up to bat. What do you do?

Whatever you do….don’t quit.

It is time for you to be better than average, better than normal. It is time for you to be awesome.

Get your art out there for us to see. Practice makes you better. Show the world what you got.

What do you need to practice on so that you can be better than average?

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One of the best ways of getting over your fear of something is to get off the couch and start.

The world needs your gift. It needs your talent. It needs to know that you care even when no one else does. So what does that look like? Think about this:

For you to keep your gifts and talent all to yourself and use them only for you and not share them with the world is really selfish…isn’t it?

You have to confront that thing. That thing that freezes you from starting. That thing that cripples you. You have to confront it or you will remain a prisoner to it for as long as you let it control you. Confront it. The best way to get over your fear is to start. Your fear will not vanish all in one day. However, starting will begin to show that fear that each day that you wake up and start you become less and less afraid.

You formed habits that caused you to be afraid to start. You have habits that led to decisions that freeze you when you try to start something new. The very thought of change scares you to death.

What is the solution?

Take the initiative. Start.

Form new habits that will push you farther and farther away from your fear. Form these habits so that when you make decisions you will not be terrified of starting.

To initiate something means that you are not waiting on anyone else. You are not going to get a babysitter. You are not going to have somebody hold your hand. You have to take the initiative. You have to start. Nobody is going to start for you.

There is no perfect time to initiate something new.

You just have to do it.

Begin.

Start.

Today.

What is something that God has placed in you and you need to stop being afraid and just start?

Like this:

Before you become great at something, you have to believe that you will be great at it.

The only thing holding you back from what God has created you to accomplish is you.

You can be held prisoner by your own thoughts. You can be a slave to anxiousness, worry, anger, bitterness, and most of all…fear. Fear leads to another dangerous enemy that can cripple you…doubt.

You do not have to believe the lies that you hear from yourself. You do not have to believe that you will never make it. You do not have to believe that you suck or are not good enough. Do not believe that you do not have what it takes to be great.

If God put the dream in you, then He has already given you what you need to accomplish it.

Moses was not a leader until he believed he was. God had called Moses and told him that he would be a great leader and would be responsible for the deliverance of the people of Israel from the clutches of the Egyptians.

What did Moses do?

Moses gives God excuse after excuse why he is not the right man for the job. Moses goes through every excuse in his book to tell God that he can’t. Guess what. Moses was right. Moses could not do it apart from God leading and guiding him.

Moses had a big problem. Moses was afraid.

Moses did not see himself the way God saw him. Moses could not see his God-given potential because his own fear blinded him. Moses was sabotaging himself before he even got started.

Do not do the same thing.

God does not make mistakes.

You are not what your parents say you are. You are not what your professors and co-workers say you are. You are not what any magazine or blog says you are. You are everything that God says you are.

What God has called you to, He will be with you until you accomplish that work.

So what has God called you to…leader, pastor, business owner, church planter, wife, dad, husband, mom, teacher, disciple, graphic artist, writer?

Moses was always a leader because that is who God created him to be.

However, Moses did not start acting like a leader until he believed he was one.

Whatever God has called you to be that is what you are. Believe you are that and you will begin to act like the person God created you to be.

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There are a ton of books on the subject of marriage. There are books on how to be creative in showing your spouse that you love them. There are books on the fact that marriage is a covenant. There are books on how to get the spark back in your marriage. I have never come across a book that addressed a husband and wife should be friends. The relationship between a husband and wife is not the same as taskmaster and slave or employer and employee. A husband and wife should be friends before they are lovers.

Song of Solomon 5:16 says, “This is my beloved, and this is my friend.”

Mark and Grace Driscoll bare their soul in this book. Real Marriage shows their life before Christ, shows mistakes that they have made and how forgiveness is needed both from Jesus and from each other.

Real Marriage shows how a husband and wife should be friends. I love this concept. Friends can work together, eat together, watch movies together, they also laugh and cry together. At the end of the day, your friend knows you better than you know yourself.

This book does well to explain that sex is not just for having kids. Sex is not a taboo topic. Sex is not gross. Sex is a gift that God gives to a husband and wife. Sex is the most intimate connection a husband and wife can have. Sex is for pleasure and for oneness in marriage.

Real Marriage is so good at engaging couples where they are that it becomes a treasured resource. This is going the main book I have couples read when doing pre-marriage counseling.

Read Real Marriage as a guide to having a long, fulfilling marriage. Read this with your fiance or with your spouse. Talk about everything with each other. Hide nothing. There is no place for secrets in a marriage.

Real Marriage is not the Bible but is full of Biblical advice. Pray that God would use the book to change you, challenge you, convict you, and make you more of the husband or wife that God created you to be.